Capturing the world with Photography, Painting and Drawing

Posts tagged “irish rivers

A Morning walk by the river bank, 30km from Home ….

A Morning by the river Suir
30Km from home
Nigel Borrington 2020

Images from a great walk this morning on the banks of the river Suir, county Tipperary some 30km from home ……


The River And The Hill – Poem by Henry Kendall

And they shook their sweetness out in their sleep
On the brink of that beautiful stream,
But it wandered along with a wearisome song
Like a lover that walks in a dream:
So the roses blew
When the winds went through,
In the moonlight so white and still;
But the river it beat
All night at the feet
Of a cold and flinty hill –
Of a hard and senseless hill!

I said, “We have often showered our loves
Upon something as dry as the dust;
And the faith that is crost, and the hearts that are lost –
Oh! how can we wittingly trust?
Like the stream which flows,
And wails as it goes.
Through the moonlight so white and still,
To beat and to beat
All night at the feet
Of a cold and flinty hill –
Of a hard and senseless hill?

“River, I stay where the sweet roses blow,
And drink of their pleasant perfumes!
Oh, why do you moan, in this wide world alone,
When so much affection here blooms?
The winds wax faint,
And the moon like a saint
Glides over the woodlands so white and still!
But you beat and you beat
All night at the feet
Of that cold and flinty hill –
Of that hard and senseless hill!”
The River And The Hill
Henry Kendall


December by the Kings river : The River and poem by – Ralph Waldo Emerson(1803 – 1882)

The River
Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803 – 1882

And I behold once more
My old familiar haunts; here the blue river,
The same blue wonder that my infant eye
Admired, sage doubting whence the traveller came,—
Whence brought his sunny bubbles ere he washed
The fragrant flag-roots in my father’s fields,
And where thereafter in the world he went.

Look, here he is, unaltered, save that now
He hath broke his banks and flooded all the vales
With his redundant waves.

Here is the rock where, yet a simple child,
I caught with bended pin my earliest fish,
Much triumphing, —and these the fields
Over whose flowers I chased the butterfly,
A blooming hunter of a fairy fine.

And hark! where overhead the ancient crows
Hold their sour conversation in the sky:—
These are the same, but I am not the same,
But wiser than I was, and wise enough
Not to regret the changes, tho’ they cost
Me many a sigh. Oh, call not Nature dumb;
These trees and stones are audible to me,
These idle flowers, that tremble in the wind,
I understand their faery syllables,
And all their sad significance. The wind,
That rustles down the well-known forest road—
It hath a sound more eloquent than speech.

The stream, the trees, the grass, the sighing wind,
All of them utter sounds of ’monishment
And grave parental love.

They are not of our race, they seem to say,
And yet have knowledge of our moral race,
And somewhat of majestic sympathy,
Something of pity for the puny clay,
That holds and boasts the immeasurable mind.

I feel as I were welcome to these trees
After long months of weary wandering,
Acknowledged by their hospitable boughs;
They know me as their son, for side by side,
They were coeval with my ancestors,
Adorned with them my country’s primitive times,
And soon may give my dust their funeral shade.


The River Runs Low, Bruce Hornsby and the Range, Album The Way It Is

The River Runs Low
Bruce Hornsby and the Range
Album The Way It Is

The rain held back again
Haven’t felt a drop since you went away
Outside of town, the hills are brown
I guess way out there you’d call ’em golden
Lines outside the welfare store
The clock is stopped at the bank next door
They yelled like hell when the boys left home
Now just like you, they’re all gone

The river runs low tonight
And eyes are closed on the waterline
The river runs low tonight
And you’re always drifting through my mind
The river runs low tonight
And nobody waits for the tide to rise
I’m gonna wait till you make
The river run high

Whoa-oh…Whoa, oooh…
The old man’s gettin’ on
Keeps the morning paper in his overcoat
It keeps him warm in the cold storm
And he told me today I look a little lonely
Up in the air they’re heading south
The sky is light to the west of town
With a little cash I could get around
You know I’d come out there and find you

Whoa…
The river runs low tonight
And eyes are closed on the waterline
The river runs low tonight
And you’re always drifting through my mind
The river runs low tonight
And nobody waits for the tide to rise
But I’m gonna wait till you make
The river run high

Whoa-oh…Whoa, oooh…Whoa-oh….

Up in the air they’re heading south
The sky is light to the west of town
With a little cash I could get around
You know I’d come out there and find you

Whoa…
The river runs low tonight
And eyes are closed on the waterline
The river runs low tonight
And you’re always drifting through my mind
The river runs low tonight
And nobody waits for the tide to rise
I’m gonna wait till you make
The river run high


Images from 2017, February

A winters morning
The river Suir
County Tipperary
February 2017
Nigel Borrington


The River – Poem by Kathleen Jessie Raine

The rivers flow
Kings river
Kells
County Kilkenny

The RiverPoem by Kathleen Jessie Raine

In my first sleep
I came to the river
And looked down
Through the clear water –
Only in dream
Water so pure,
Laced and undulant
Lines of flow
On its rocky bed
Water of life
Streaming for ever.

A house was there
Beside the river
And I, arrived,
An expected guest
About to explore
Old gardens and libraries –
But the car was waiting
To drive me away.

One last look
Into that bright stream –
Trout there were
And clear on the bottom
Monster form
Of the great crayfish
That crawls to the moon.
On its rocky bed
Living water
In whorls and ripples
Flowing unbended.

There was the car
To drive me away.
We crossed the river
Of living water –
I might not stay,
But must return
By the road too short
To the waiting day.

In my second dream
Pure I was and free
By the rapid stream,
My crystal house the sky,
The pure crystalline sky.

Into the stream I flung
A bottle of clear glass
That twirled and tossed and spun
In the water’s race
Flashing the morning sun.

Down that swift river
I saw it borne away,
My empty crystal form,
Exultant saw it caught
Into the current’s spin,
The flashing water’s run.
The River
Kathleen Jessie Raine


Tales from the river Bank, River Suir, Country Tipperary

Tales from the River Bank,
River Suir,
County Tipperary
Nigel Borrington

A Walk along the River Suir : Gallery


The river Suir , county Tipperary

A winters morning The river Suir County Tipperary February 2017  Nigel Borrington

A winters morning
The river Suir
County Tipperary
February 2017
Nigel Borrington

A winters morning along the river Suir county Tipperary ….

February and while sometimes it can feel like spring is just around the corner, some mornings can be as cold the coldest the winter can offer here. With this cold weather can come some of the most stunning views of the season along the river banks here in the south of Ireland, frost and mist and the deep blue of a morning sky …..

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The Boat men of the river Suir

Fishing boat  river Suir  County Tipperary

Fishing boat
river Suir
County Tipperary

Fishing on the River suir

The walk along the river Suir, County Tipperary is one of the best river walks in the south east of Ireland. It is currently undergoing an upgrade to a hard surface that will for the first time allow for both walkers and cyclists.

The river is used by many local people during the year but the fisher man are most probably it’s most common visitors, the River is renowned for its game angling, holding both salmon (Salmo salar) and brown trout (Salmo trutta).

I have taken many photographs of the fishermen here over the years alone with the boats they use for their fishing, these boats ( all made locally ) are used more like punts as the have a completely flat bottom and are moved along the river with a pole.

Fishing in Ireland : CLOCULLY TO CARRICK-ON-SUIR

The River Suir from Clocully to Carrick-on-Suir is a combination of deep pools, fast glides and varying widths and depths.

From Clocully to Ballydonagh, a consortium of private landowners control the angling, these are all private fisheries. This stretch also includes parts of the River Tar and River Nire, which contain good stocks of trout of up to 30 cm.

Fishing on the river Suir : Gallery

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The Boat men of the suir 1

The boat on the suir

The Boat men of the suir 3

The Boat men of the suir 4


Monday poetry , River Banks by Carolyn Follett

Irish Landscapes River Maine Kilderry North County Kerry Nigel Borrington

Irish Landscapes
River Maine
Kilderry North
County Kerry
Nigel Borrington

River has a silver string that runs its length,
holds it to a source in the mountains.

River cradles its corded muscles of water
between high banks, giving the banks no thought

as it bites them with eddies,
eroding their lower flanks.

River thinks it is only water and the gristle
of currents, hay stacking surfaces

and deep, bellowing falls
running for the sea, though

it does not know it is there.
River should take more care of its banks.

river-maine-country-kerry-nigel-borrington-4

Banks are what hold it a river, give
direction, keep it mitering downward.

Without banks, river loses its way,
becomes a swamp and stills.

All my life I have chafed at river banks,
fighting to spread my currents

in whatever turn needed exploring.
The high song of freedom seemed

to be a music of ‘no banks’,
and yet the whole joy of rivers is pushing,

etching the banks to join the flow,
but having them hold.


Irish Landscape Photography, River Dawn, County Waterford

Irish Landscape Photography River Dawn County Waterford Nigel Borrington

Irish Landscape Photography
River Dawn
County Waterford
Nigel Borrington

Irish Landscapes

Crossing The Bar - Poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson Nigel Borrington 03

The Landscape of Ireland is some of the most idyllic on the European continent, counties Kerry and Mayo have some of the most stunning mountains and the west coast along with west cork have some of the most beautiful beaches and coast line. The North is wild in the winter months and county Wexford warm and sunny in the summer. While this is all very true and these places are great to visit, very few People live in these remote locations.

For most of us who live here it is landscapes like the one above (The River Dawn) that we get to see and visit most often, the local countryside with its low lying farm-land and rivers that flow slowly through it. Rivers like the River Dawn in the picture above that flows through county Waterford before joining the River Suir close to waterford city.

Even though I love to visit the most iconic places here, it is the everyday landscapes I love to photograph the most …..

River Dawn Joins the river Suir County Waterford Nigel Borrington

river Dawn Joins the river Suir
county Waterford
Nigel Borrington


“The River rowers” By Sarah Lyn

River Images Nigel Borrington

River Images
Nigel Borrington

Sarah Lyn

Me and Jessie T
Rowing down cedar creek
oar in hand, smile on our faces

Rowing the river Barrow Nigel Borrington 2

intoxicated steering
trees scraping our backs
cant stop laughing
just keep rowing

Rowing the river Barrow Nigel Borrington 3


The Elements : Water in images

The Elements, Water Nigel Borrington

The Elements, Water : Nigel Borrington

Water is life, out of all of the elements we need for our existence, water has to be the one we are closest to!

By capturing these images here, I wanted to take sometime getting close to water and attempt to make a connection to it. These images were taken yesterday in a local river as it flows through the Irish landscape. This is a shaded and hard to get to, hidden part of this river, even on a sunny day in June the Sun finds it hard to reach in. I felt that this only added to the atmosphere, with the sounds of the flowing water as it moved around the stones on the river bed.

The Elements : Water in Images

The Elements Water Nigel Borrington 01

The Elements Water Nigel Borrington 03

The Elements Water Nigel Borrington 04

The Elements Water Nigel Borrington 05

The Elements Water Nigel Borrington 06


Images of Kilkenny, Autumn on the river Barrow

Autumn on river the Barrow Kilkenny Nigel Borrington

Autumn on river the Barrow Kilkenny
Nigel Borrington

Autumn is just starting to take a hold here in County Kilkenny, some green remains but a lot of the trees are just starting to turn yellow, as these pictures taken during a walk along the river Barrow show.

Autumn colours reflected in the almost still water of the river as it flows through the county on the last week in September 2015.

Autumn on river the Barrow Kilkenny Nigel Borrington

Autumn on river the Barrow Kilkenny Nigel Borrington

Autumn on river the Barrow Kilkenny Nigel Borrington

Autumn on river the Barrow Kilkenny Nigel Borrington


Friday Poems : The River , Catherine, from Liverpool

The River Suir, County Tipperary Irish Landscape Photography : Nigel Borrington

The River Suir, County Tipperary
Irish Landscape Photography : Nigel Borrington

Friday and this weekend is the last one of June, I plan to do some long river walks with our Dog Molly ….

What ever you do this weekend I hope you have a great time and get to escape for a while, have a great weekend !!!

The River

Catherine, Liverpool

It starts at a source as a little trickle

Then flows down the mountain,

Following a steep and narrow path.

As it rushes down it is joined by many other tributaries,

Changing it from a small, shallow stream

To a big, deep river

The water is clear and unpolluted,

Icy blue and sparkling

But always icy cold too.

It crashes as it flows,

Forming bubbling foam

That fills the air with cold white spray.

River Suir Tipperary 02

As the current pushes it on, it erodes away the rocks,

Leaving small, smooth banks

For it to easily pass by.

It deepens and widens as it runs down the mountain,

Soon entering a valley

With the sea in view.

It finally comes to its end,

An estuary leading into the sea

Ending its long journey from the mountain.

But it will start its journey again

When the sun evaporates it from the sea

And drops it down as rain.


Monday Poetry , Canal Life, By : Ian McMillan

St Mullins Kilkenny on the canal

Ian McMillan
Canal Life

The canal tells you stories
The canal sings you songs
They hang in that space
Between memory and water

Once saw a narrowboat raised up,
Like it was cutting through the air,
Between two grass walls and the road below
Like it was sliding through history,
And a tiny vole swam across the water
So a tiny vole swam through history.

The canal tells you stories
The canal sings you songs

Once saw a man floating belly up in a canal
Like he was in the bath. He shouted
‘This is the life’ as I passed by on a narrowboat;
The sky was reflected in the surface
And we tied up in the places the map never showed us,
The man floating by, making ripples on the surface.

They hang in that space
Between memory and water

Once got waved at by a jogger as I stood gongoozling
On the towpath; her running gave rhythm
To the early afternoon, dog-strollers and kids
Who’d rather be here than sitting in school.
To gongoozle is to stand and watch narrowboats pass
And a canal is a lesson, a water-based school.

The canal tells you stories
The canal sings you songs

St Mullins Kilkenny

Once these canals were information highways
If coal and iron can be information,
And I think they can be. And there are bridges,
Pub gardens, the laughter of children
As they walk by the water; and the canals
Turn us all into curious children.

They hang in that space
Between memory and water

Once is never enough for a canal, I reckon;
You need to go back and see it again,
And sail it again, and smell it again, and
Touch it again; canals run through our veins
Like they stroll through this country
Like blood through our veins.

The canal tells you stories
The canal sings you songs
They hang in that space
Between memory and water


River Bend , A poem by: Rania Moallem

Rivers bend River Suir, Co Tipperary Nigel Borrington

Rivers bend
River Suir, Co Tipperary
Nigel Borrington



River Bend

A poem by: Rania Moallem

I believe I’ve waited too much that
patience poured wild enough to
drown me at the verge of that river
bend, where I pointlessly dwell,
where you never pass by.

And the confusion I lastly saw in your eyes
perhaps was dusk and ashes of burnt
thoughts you’ve had about me, or was it
plain puzzlement…
I wonder.

For I had you hunting me at night again
waking up breathless to find you clinging to
the last gasp of air I relief with despair,
right before I fight to sleep again.

It might be the right time to move on.

Past this rivers bend …….


Irish Landscape Photography : The River Suir

Irish Landscape Photography The River Suir, County Waterford Nigel Borrington

Irish Landscape Photography
The River Suir, County Waterford
Nigel Borrington

The River Suir that flows through Counties (Tipperary and Waterford) is only one of Ireland many rivers, with so many here its hard to say that its the most loved or the most beautiful but it cannot be far from it. I spend a lot of time walking the banks of this river so a little time ago I decided to get a flight booked from Kilkenny’s small Airport and get some pictures of the Suir from above, the above image being just one.

This was one of the most amazing things I have done with a Camera and it was a perfect day to do this trip, I will never forget looking down the river Suir towards Waterford city and seeing the river vanish into the setting sun …..

The River Suir

Irish pronunciation:, Irish An tSiúr or Abhainn na Siúire, is a river in Ireland that flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Waterford after a distance of 185 kilometres (115 mi).[1] The catchment area of the River Suir is 3,610 km2. The long term average flow rate of the River Suir is 76.9 Cubic Metres per second (m3/s)- This is more than twice the flow of the River Barrow (37.4 m3/s)

Popular with anglers, it holds plentiful reserves of brown trout. While the Suir holds the record for a salmon taken from an Irish river (weighing 57 lb/26 kg, taken on a fly in 1874), as is the case in many other Atlantic rivers, salmon stocks have been in decline in recent years.

Rising on the slopes of Devil’s Bit Mountain, just north of Templemore in County Tipperary, the Suir flows south through Loughmore, Thurles, Holycross, Golden and Knockgraffon. Merging with the River Aherlow at Kilmoyler and further on with the Tar, it turns east at the Comeragh Mountains, forming the border between County Waterford and County Tipperary. It then passes through Cahir, Clonmel and Carrick-on-Suir before reaching Waterford. Near the Port of Waterford it meets the River Barrow at Cheekpoint to form a wide navigable estuary, capable of accommodating seagoing vessels up to 32,000 tons dwt. It exits to the sea between Dunmore East and Hook Head.

Together with the Nore and the Barrow, the river is one of the trio known as The Three Sisters.


Irish Landscape Photography – The River Suir at Mooncoin , County Kilkenny

Fishing boats on teh River Suir Irish Landscape Photography : Nigel Borrington

Fishing boats on teh River Suir
Irish Landscape Photography : Nigel Borrington


Fishing on the River suir

A walk along the river Suir, at Mooncoin, County Kilkenny is one of the best river walks in the south east of Ireland.

The river is used by many local people during the year but the fisher men are probably it’s most common visitors, the River is renowned for its game angling, holding both salmon (Salmo salar) and brown trout (Salmo trutta).

The Boat men of the suir 1

I have taken many photographs of the fishermen here over the years, alone with their boats, used for their fishing. These boats ( all made locally ) are used more like punts as they have a completely flat bottom and are moved along the river using a pole.


Images of County Kilkenny. Ireland – Tales from the river bank .

Irish Landscape Photography Tales from the River bank Nigel Borrington

Irish Landscape Photography
Tales from the River bank
Nigel Borrington

A Gallery for Friday, images from the many river banks of county Kilkenny, Ireland .

Tales from the river bank, a Gallery

Pictures from the river bank 06

Pictures from the river bank 02

Pictures from the river bank 05

Pictures from the river bank 03

Pictures from the river bank 01

Pictures from the river bank 07

Pictures from the river bank 04


At the River Awbeg edge, Image Gallery

River Awbeg,  Doneraile , county Cork Irish Landscape Photography : Nigel Borrington

River Awbeg,
Doneraile , county Cork
Irish Landscape Photography : Nigel Borrington

Today I just want to share some images take at the banks of one of my favorite irish rivers the Awbeg River (Irish: An Abhainn Bheag, meaning “the small river”). This river is a river in the southern part of Ireland. It is a tributary of the Blackwater River and flows into that larger river at a point in County Cork. Its name comes from the Irish Abha Bheag (“small river”, a slightly older form than the modern Irish name).

As its a Friday Afternoon, I wish everyone a great weekend ahead. I hope you get sometime off and have a chance to spend time in a place just like this one 🙂

At the River Awbeg edge, Image Gallery

At the rivers edge 5

At the rivers edge 4

At the rivers edge 1

At the rivers edge 2

At the rivers edge 3

At the rivers edge 6


The River Pollanassa ( county Kilkenny ) and its waterfall in Decemeber : Gallery

River Pollanassa Waterfall Mullinavat County Kilkenny Irish Landscape Photography : Nigel Borrington

River Pollanassa Waterfall
Mullinavat
County Kilkenny
Irish Landscape Photography : Nigel Borrington

There are many times of the year I love to be down near some of county Kilkenny’s rivers and small lakes, for some reason I find that December is just one of the best times of year to be near water. I love the feeling on a cold days near rivers, walking along in winter clothes, in a hat and gloves. Here you get a sense of how the rivers and their banks change from one season to the next.

These images are of a Waterfall located just outside the small town of Mullinavat, county kilkenny. The great named river Pollanassa which rises at the towns-land of Ballinteskin has in just a few miles gone from being a small stream to a powerful river that can easily flood the fields here after a storm.

The River Pollanassa , Waterfall in Decemeber : Gallery

Kilkenny Rivers in December 03

Kilkenny Rivers in December 04#

Kilkenny Rivers in December 02

Kilkenny Rivers in December 05


Golden hour on the River Barrow, Co Kilkenny : Six Images.

Golden hour on the river Barrow, County Kilkenny. Irish Landscape Photography : Nigel Borrington

Golden hour on the river Barrow,
County Kilkenny.
Irish Landscape Photography : Nigel Borrington

This September has been one of the warmest and driest in memory and just perfect for late evening walks along our local river banks.

These images are just some I have taken just before sunset each evening, September 2014 is one to remember for a long time !

Golden hour on the River Barrow : Gallery

Golden Evening on the river Barrow kilkenny 1

Golden Evening on the river Barrow kilkenny 2

Golden Evening on the river Barrow kilkenny 3

Golden Evening on the river Barrow kilkenny 5

Golden Evening on the river Barrow kilkenny 6


The bridge of the Glen-upper river, Kilsheelan, County Tipperary.

Landscape Photography Square format  3
Bridge of the Glen-upper river, Kilsheelan, County Tipperary.
Landscape Photography : Nigel Borrington

Just a gallery today, a set of Black and white images from the Glen Upper river, Kilsheelan , I love these old Irish bridges, standing high above flowing shaded rivers below.

I took these images using a Canon G1 x, set to take raw pictures in a square format, a format that I have been using more and more as I feel it forces you to think about your image framing.

Gallery

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Landscape Photography Square format  2